Highways and Byways: A weekly photographic report

"I look stupid," Katie Allen, 13, said to Isaac Evans, 12. The friends tried on sunglasses at a Summerfest booth in Haubstadt, Ind., on Thursday.

From left, Eric Martin, 13, Noah Evans, 10, Isaac Evans, 12, Tanner Bittner, 12, and Katie Allen, 13, hang out on a bench waiting for a few friends to join them at the Summerfest in Haubstadt, Ind., on Thursday.

'There aren't as many people and rides as last year's,' Noah Evans, 10, said as he sat on a bench with four friends at the Summerfest in Haubstadt, Ind.

"Last year it was packed," said Katie Allen, 13. "You could barely walk through here. Every chair was taken, and you had to wait in line."

"Guys, we did get here right at 5 as soon as it opened," said Isaac Evans, 12. "It's still early."

The friends have mostly grown up together and look forward to the festival every summer as a change of pace in their regular summer activities.

"Let's go ride some rides," Allen said to her friends.

Noah Evans laughed. "Let's walk around first," he said. "I have to wait for my belly to settle. I just drank a bucket of coke."

As they roamed around the field of carnival rides, they decided to try their hand at a few games.

"Hey, guys, I want a fish," Katie said. "Will you help me win a fish?"

"No, I don't want to have to carry a fish all night, and it might get sick when we take it on the twister," said Tanner Bittner, 12.

"I will carry my own fish," Katie said.

Their efforts were unsuccessful, but it wasn't long before the group was trying another game or debating which ride would be next.

"We do a lot of hanging out, playing video games, riding four-wheelers and playing paintball," Isaac Evans said.

But Eric Martin, 13, said Summerfest was special.

"This is fun and is only for three days during the summer," he said, "so it doesn't get old."